Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus reiterated Friday that the GOP won’t be handing out the presidential nomination to anyone with a plurality of delegates, despite polls showing that most Republican voters think whoever gets the most should receive the nomination.
“As our nomination process goes on, we are preparing for all possible scenarios. We might have a nominee by July, or we might have a nominee through the balloting process at the convention,” Priebus told RNC members on Friday at the committee’s annual spring meeting.
“The rules say you have to have 1,237 delegates to be the nominee,” he added. “We aren’t going to hand the nomination to anyone with a plurality, no matter how close they are to 1,237.”
The RNC chair used President Obama’s fight years ago to pass his signature healthcare legislation as an example of how close enough doesn’t mean a victory.
“We all remember the fight in 2009 over Obamacare when it looked like Obama was going to be three votes short. We didn’t say, ‘Oh he’s almost there, let’s give it to him.’ He had to get a majority,” Priebus noted.
According to Priebus, Republicans have “two options” this election cycle: unify behind Trump if he reaches the 1,237 delegates needed to become the nominee before the convention, or “go to an open or contested convention.”
“Regardless of when we get a nominee, the bottom line is Republicans will leave Cleveland united and ready to win in November,” he said.
Priebus also emphasized the important role “rules” will play in the balloting process, and promised GOP voters that “fairness and transparency will be the hallmark of [the] convention.”
The Wisconsin Republican’s emphasis on transparency came hours after GOP front-runner Donald Trump continued to blast the party’s “rigged” nominating process at a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pa.
“Having a committee write a set of rules that govern the body isn’t unique to the Republican National Committee. It’s true for the Boy Scouts, the Rotary Club or any other group that has organizational structure,” Priebus said Friday.
“The whole world will be watching the democratic process at work, and we are excited to show off the best our party has to offer,” he said.
